GOP Candidates Break With Scalia’s Second Amendment Opinion The majority of the GOP presidential field broke with the decision of the late Justice Antonin Scalia by promising to fight back on all restrictions to the Second Amendment despite Scalia’s landmark decision that kept the door open for some restrictions on “dangerous weapons.” When Fox News’s Chris Wallace asked Marco Rubio which lines he would draw around the Second Amendment, he answered: “As few as possible.” “The Second Amendment, as I’ve said before, is not a suggestion,” he added. “It is the Second Amendment for the reason. It is right after the defense of the freedom of speech for a reason, for clearly the founders of our nation understood and the framers of the Constitution understood that you cannot have life, you cannot have liberty and you cannot pursue happiness if you are not safe.” He went onto add that “criminals don’t follow gun laws,” so any restrictions on the Second Amendment would only hurt law abiding citizens. Donald Trump walked back his previous support of an assault weapons ban, while Ted Cruz chided Trump for his previous support of the policy and added that the ban was ineffective.

GOP Debate: Rubio Criticizes Gun Control, Does Not Mention His Vote for 1999 Gun Ban During the March 3 GOP debate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) criticized gun control as “not effective” against criminals but did not mention his vote for a 1999 gun ban while a city commissioner in West Miami. Moreover, Rubio did not explain why he voted for such a ban if gun control is “not effective” against criminals to begin with. Fox News host Bret Baier initiated the talk on guns and gun control by asking Rubio, “What limits would you draw around the Second Amendment?” Rubio responded by saying he would allow as few limits as possible to be drawn, then said:

It’s Cruz, or the Second Amendment Is Toast (Part 1) Let me be very clear before I begin: Ted Cruz was not my first, second, or even third choice to be the Republican nominee for the 2016 Presidential election. I was hoping that a proven governor with a solid track record of leadership and economic growth and a sterling record of support for gun rights would survive the primaries, and unfortunately, that simply did not pan out. We’re now left with three candidates*: businessman/reality television star Donald Trump, Senator Marco Rubio, and Senator Ted Cruz. As the editor of Bearing Arms and the primary administrator of the 2nd Amendment Supporters Facebook page, I am necessarily driven to examine the track records and claims of the these three viable candidates before we get any further into the race, and note how the nomination of these three men could impact the core natural right of self defense for 320 million American citizens.

Trump No Long Supports Ban On Assault Weapons… For Now During the Republican primary debate last night, Donald Trump was hit repeatedly for flip-flopping his positions, sometimes within 24 hours. Politico notes that one of those “flips” was reversing position on his prior support for banning the civilian ownership of common semi-automatic rifles and pistols http://www.politico.com/blogs/2016-gop-primary-live-updates-and-results/2016/03/donald-trump-assault-weapon-ban-220238 that Trump and his fellow Democrats have long demonized as “assault weapons.”

U.S. Appeals Court To Rehear Case On Maryland Assault-weapon Ban The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit has agreed to rehear a case that could potentially deal a blow to a Maryland gun control law that bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh asked the full 15-member court to hear arguments en banc after a three-judge panel in February ruled that the ban “significantly burdens the exercise of the right to arm oneself at home.” The panel, in a 2-1 ruling, ordered that the case be sent back to the original district judge for reconsideration under stricter constitutional standards. On Friday, the 4th Circuit issued an order granting the motion for the full hearing. Arguments are scheduled for May 11 at the court in Richmond. Maryland’s ban was enacted in 2013 in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. It prohibits the sale or ownership of 45 types of military-style rifles, and of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

NYC Mayor De Blasio Pleased to Accept Murder by Knives in Exchange for Murder by Guns NEW YORK (FOX5NY) – New York mayor Bill de Blasio is trying to put a positive spin on a recent rash of stabbings and slashings across the city. He credits the NYPD taking guns off of the street. “I’m not a criminologist but I can safely say that guns are being taken off the street in an unprecedented way. Some people, unfortunately, are turning to a different weapon,” de Blasio says. New Yorkers have been on edge because of a series of highly-reported attacks, including several seemingly random attacks on the subways. The city was averaging more than 10 stabbing attacks a day in the first six weeks of the year. The mayor claims that since there are so many fewer guns on the street, officers can now focus on criminals using knives and razors. He says catching people committing minor infractions, so-called “broken windows” policing, is the key to getting weapons off of the streets.